Reflection 04/21/19

Today is the greatest celebration in the Christian calendar, as we celebrate Easter, or Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Due to hindsight, we know that Jesus rises from the dead. This can prevent us from experiencing the true joy that comes from this day. Jesus’ Resurrection is the joyful surprise of the Gospel, as not even His closest friends expected it to happen.
As we go through life we can caught up in routine. We can get weighed down with our expectations, that as adults we think we wisely call “realistic,” are in actuality really boring and unimaginative. So we journey through life getting more jaded and sad as the years pass by. Echoing the Book of Ecclesiastes we start thinking that there is nothing new under the sun.
Today breaks us out of this. Jesus rose from the dead. The light has pierced through the darkness. The most joyfully unexpected moment in the history of mankind has happened. All things seem possible now. With this joy comes an almost unmitigated potential. There is nothing that is too difficult, nothing is so impossible that it cannot happen.
The following comparisons may help us understand the surprise that comes with Jesus’ Resurrection. I’m a sports guy, so I apologize that they are all sports related. First is the Warren Morris homerun to win the 1996 College World Series. LSU was down one run in the bottom of ninth. It wasn’t looking good for the Tigers. Morris steps up to the plate with two outs, and what appears to be a line drive shot into the right field corner, sails over the fence for a two-run homer, capturing the championship. What appeared to be a gut wrenching loss for LSU became one of the most historic events in college sports history.
The next is near and dear to all of us. In Super Bowl LVI the Colts took the upper hand early. The onside kick to start the second half helped to turn the momentum towards the Saints, who took a lead late in the fourth quarter. Peyton Manning then begins to march his offense down the field. We had all seen it before. We’ve seen dozens of Peyton fourth quarter comebacks, and even more Saints let downs. (Just make a tackle Marcus Williams!!) Then the unexpected surprise happens, as Tracy Porter cuts Reggie Wayne’s route, and seals the Super Bowl victory for the Saints with a pick six.
These can help us to get an insight into the joy that comes with the unexpected surprise of Easter Sunday. While these examples only helped a team win a perishable trophy, Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead is our victory over sin and death, and leads to the imperishable trophy of Heaven.